Super Polish

Hello happy people!

From me to you on this beautiful day: a free printable of a graphic reminder of the importance of always loving yourself.

Download it, print it out and remember to love yourself!

The printable is in size a4, possible to downsize.

For everyone who, just like me, realized relatively late that the new year has actually come and there is a new season fast aproaching, I have prepared absolutely free, colorful desktop wallpapers to download. Please feel free to share them with your family and friends! The more of us get some color boost this dready time of year, the better for humanity.

Kisses!

Good News DOWNLOAD

Woah DOWNLOAD

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM, WASHINGTON DC

From its critical position on the ancient Silk Road that stretches from Europe to China, Afghanistan absorbed traditions from India, Persia, and Central Asia and blended them into a distinct artistic culture. Decades of civil unrest that began in the 1970s nearly destroyed this vital heritage.  Many of Afghanistan’s artisans were forced to leave their country or give up their craft. The old city of Kabul, once a bustling center of craft and commerce, fell into ruin.

To tell the transformative story of culture and heritage in Murad Khani, Afghan woodworkers have created magnificent wood arcades, screens, and a pavilion, all carved by hand from Himalayan cedar. Wander among these arcades and explore spectacular contemporary carpets, jewelry, and calligraphy, all complemented by videos and large-scale photographs of the Afghan artisans who made them. Artisans from Murad Khani are bringing the exhibition to life by demonstrating their art, sharing their experiences, and allowing visitors to encounter Afghanistan’s art and culture firsthand. 

Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan is organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Turquoise Mountain Trust. Open now through October 2017

Le Corbusier’s and Pierre Jeanneret’s iconic “Semi-detached House” located in Stuttgart and built in 1927, seeks to be constructed efficient and inexpensive, based on standard components and on industrialized materials. To save time and reduce production costs, the construction method was also very carefully organized.

The living room turns into the bedrooms, thanks to big closets which hide the beds during the day. The floor finish and the little care required by the furniture, as in the rest of dwellings of Weissenhofsiedlung, made the housework easier, with the purpose of allowing women to pursue a career.

Le Corbusier applied the famous “Five Rules for the New Architecture”, plenty of light, air and movement, with extensive use of the open spaces and big horizontal windows. The “Semi-detached House” is a research field of new solutions to the minimum dwelling, and hence the need to experiment with the uses of day and night.

The house has often been referred to as the part of the manifesto of the Modern Movement.

This flooring material is based on marble aggregates crushed in cement littered a number of coquettish floors in the 1960s. In the crazy 80′s gained Memphis-like upgrade thanks to Japan designer Shiro Kuramata. Currently we are experiencing a wild revival of this for decades underestimated material. It appears in all shapes and sizes and, most significantly, as a total design solution. 

A description published in Pan magazine of Hermann Obrist's wall hanging Cyclamen (1894) described it as "sudden violent curves generated by the crack of a whip", which became well known during the early spread of Art Nouveau. Subsequently, not only did the work itself become better known as The Whiplash but the term "whiplash" is frequently applied to the characteristic curves employed by Art Nouveau artists. Such decorative "whiplash" motifs, formed by dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines in a syncopated rhythm and asymmetrical shape, are found throughout the architecture, painting, sculpture, and other forms of Art Nouveau design.

The style is mostly characterized by rhythmic floral patterns, flat perspective and strong colors of Japanese wood block prints, organic forms and references to the natural world.  Iron decoration in curves inspired by floral and vegetal forms both in the interiors and exteriors took the form of stairway railings in the interior, light fixtures, and other details in the interior, and balconies and other ornaments on the exterior. Metal works became the most distinctive features of Art Nouveau.  

Guillermo Santomà collaboration with Albert Guerra, 2014.  Refurbishment of a house from the beginning of the XX century in Barcelona, at Guinardo´s neighborhood, nearly touching Carmel´s mountain. Three floors house. A false facade hides the kitchen-toilet allowing the light come in though a skylight. An extension of the stairs simulating a giant arc, allows the communication between the three floors.

THe hotel is located on Hötorget, an active market square in the centre of the city, the 405-room hotel occupies the former PUB department store. The exact same store in which Greta Garbo once worked in the millinery department.

Art Deco inspired interiors where created by local studio, Koncept. Miami-deco inspiration can be easily seen in the powdery pastels, rich ornamentation, symmetrical and geometric patterning. Koncept used famous scandinavian design brands to complement the idea: Beetle chair by Danish design house, Gubi in Mauritian palm print upholstery with customised lamps from Rubn and Fransen.

A chandelier display of 40 quilt-patterned blown pendants by designer Samuel Wilkinson for &tradition holds the drama of the deep red entrance, while artwork in each of the guest rooms comes from an on-going photographic project by fashion photographer Henrik Bulow, and stylist Pernille Teisbaek.

In French contexts, an hôtel particulier is a townhouse of a grand sort. (In mediaeval English, hôtel was rendered as "inn", the townhouse of a nobleman, now surviving only as used in Inns of Court. Particulier meant "personal" or "private"). Whereas an ordinary maison (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an hôtel particulier was often free-standing, and by the 18th century it would always be located entre cour et jardin, between the entrance court, the cour d'honneur, and the garden behind.There are hôtels particuliers in many large cities, such as Paris, Bordeaux, Albi, Aix en Provence, Avignon, Caen, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Rouen, Rennes, Toulouse and Troyes. The term is comparable to the townhouse which housed the British nobleman in London. 

 The charmingly unique Hôtel Particulier in Montmarte, Paris, consists of a handful of suites (namely 5), which were all designed by Morgane Rousseau, with featured works by different artists, i.e. sculptor Philippe Mayaux.

The garden – an unexpected delight in the midst of bustly Montmartre – is as much as work of art as the rest of the hotel. Landscaper Louis Bénech (who also created the Jardin des Tuileries) has woven the serene and leafy space with shady nooks and a tinkling fountain.

Editorial work for Case de Abitare